Travel Blogs from Santa Fe, Ecuador

... some frigate birds and gulls. The weather was really hot but it didn't rain.
After lunch, we transferred to SantaFe Island and went snorkeling from the dinghy. We saw yellow-tailed surgeon fish, parrotfish, and others we ...

... followed to Plaza Sur where we saw the endemic land iguanas as well as masked boobies and the Tropic Bird. Another 2 hour cruise back to SantaFe for dinner. Unfortunately Jack got sea sick on the way back as there was a bit of a swell and ...

... coast and our pickup point surrounded on all sides by more and more lizards, Igs and sea lions.
The succeeding island SantaFe (Barrington) brought with it our introductory snorkeling excursion around Islote Black, a small cactus covered islet sheltering ...

... were the lava gulls, yellow warblers and red-billed tropicbirds with their elaborate tails.
After lunch on the yacht, we continued to SantaFe Island, a sea journey of 2 1/2 hours. Upon arrival to the island, we were treated to a noisy welcome by ...

SantaFe boasts the largest species of iguanas I've seen in this trip - they looked like miniature versions of dinosaurs. Their colors stretch from yellow to chocolate brown. There was also an abundance of towering cactus plants everywhere.
After the ...

... the music wouldn't bother anyone it would be nice.
After lunch and restocking the boat we took the boat the short distance to Isla SantaFe. Pretty rough waters but a clear day. The temp. outside, in the shade, is 90 degrees with very high ...

DAY SEVEN
Our guidebook said that the beaches and waters off SantaFe island provided an excellent spot for snorkeling, but Maria assured us that that was no longer the case after a research scientist was lucky not to lose her arm after a recent attack ...

... do flips and twirls and literally put on a show. I wish I had an underwater camera.
Later in the afternoon, more snorkeling at SantaFe island. I swam with green sea turtles and manta rays, and even a group of white tipped sharks, which I ran into ...

... did not get to see). The Baltra Island variety went extinct when soldiers stationed there in WWII shot them for amusement. On SantaFe Island, feral species introduced by man (including rats, cats and dogs) decimated the population. Luckily there is ...

... (as opposed to the ordinary Galapapos iguana). This is another example where two distinct species have developed on different islands. SantaFe iguanas tend to be lighter in colour. However in evolution things never really stay still; there is now ...

... nbsp; We were all left exhausted and exhilerated - wow!
Video of The Seals
The islands themselves are so weird. At SantaFe today, we felt like we were walking through a Dr Seuss book. There were these weird little round cacti everywhere ...

... cactus and did not seem bothered that we were all watching as he went about his breakfast. The land iguanas of SantaFe have a paler yellow colour than the other islands land iguanas and are substantially larger than the common black marine iguana we ...

... SantaFe in the morning, a barren island covered in tall cacti and prickly plants. There were huge sandy-coloured iguanas on SantaFe, very cool. There were also lots of blue footed boobies which grouped together in the air and then dived collectively ...

... it! After an hour we got back on boat - now really hungry and really deserved a good breakfast. We immediately started our navigation towards SantaFe. But on the way one of the engines kind of broke and we drove with half-speed, arriving 2 hours late at ...

Up early to be fitted for wetsuits and snorkelling gear. After breakfast, the panga took us to the beach on SantaFe where we saw some huge iguanas nibbling cactuses .. and we had to dodge the sea lions and sea lion 'poop' as they call it. We ...

On the island of SantaFe our dinghy driver (almost) timed the waves to give us a thrilling surf into a little cove with a white sandy beach. With (unplanned) wet feet we landed and were welcomed by more than 50 lounging sea lions (and one slightly ...

... were MUCH bigger than the ones we´d seen at the docks! Very eerie! The morning was spent traveling the 4 hours across to SantaFe island where we disembarked for a walk around the island. We spotted the unique species of land iguana (the biggest ...

Much better tour! Saw the boobies, penguins before the first snorkel dive. Gambolled with some sea lions and saw a lot of tropical fish. We had a snack of cold bananas (delicious, why didn't I think of this?) before getting to the next sight. There were ...

... very patient with me and sat with my moppy self being sympathetic in Spanish for awhile. I forced myself on the morning walk to SantaFe. Loads of baby sea lions and tall Prickly pear trees, that had adapted to the environment to survive being eaten. We ...

Copy of 5th Mar cont. Back on board we had some time as we set sail for SantaFe Island, so we sat and read on the back deck while a friendly moth decided to land on my face. We had lunch just as we were coming up to the Island which was a massive Tuna. ...

... the other was occupied by 2 Israeli tourists, one with a local girlfriend from the operator. Sailed for Floreana, 3 hrs south of Santa Cruz, at a speed of 8 knots. Lunch was fried chicken, rice and canned peaches. 1400h Landed at Punta Comoran, beach with ...

Quite a bumpy cruise again onto the next Island after dinner last night - Plazas Sanata Fe. We had breakfast and then did a dry landing in the rib. It is only a small island but there are colonies of sea lions who don't even move when you walk around ...

Another day of snorkeling and wandering around the islands. And we jumped of the boat, which was prety high. Just have a look at the pictures. Some remarkable things: - At some point one guy of the group was weeing on the island, which is not allowed. ...